Four unions endorse Novick, Nolan
for seats on Portland City Council
No action yet in
mayor’s race
Two candidates running for Port-
land City Council have picked up early
endorsements from four union locals.
In a joint announcement Dec. 15 in
front of City Hall, leaders of Portland
Fire Fighters Local 43, the Portland Po-
lice Association (PPA), the Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Electrical Work-
ers (IBEW) Local 48, and the
International Longshore and Ware-
house Union (ILWU) Local 8, en-
dorsed Steve Novick and Mary Nolan
for city council.
Novick is running for an open seat
being vacated by former Fire Fighters
union president Randy Leonard.
Nolan is leaving the Oregon House
of Representatives to challenge incum-
bent Amanda Fritz, who is a member
of the Oregon Nurses Association.
All but the ILWU represent employ-
ees at the city.
“We endorse these people because
we want to get the City of Portland
back looking at jobs,” said Joe Es-
monde, a business agent for IBEW Lo-
cal 48. “We need to have a middle class
that is strong, which is important to pay
those taxes. We know these candidates
will be there for us and help our mem-
bers get back to work.”
Daryl Turner, president of the PPA,
said the two endorsed candidates “are
innovators who think outside the box
to solve difficult and complex prob-
lems.”
Fire Fighters President Jim Forquer
said his union and the PPA also have
endorsed Rod Underhill for Mult-
nomah County district attorney. Under-
hill, a chief deputy district attorney for
Multnomah County, is seeking to re-
place his boss, Michael Schrunk, who
is retiring after 31 years as DA.
Forquer said labor wasn’t ready to
endorse any of the candidates running
for mayor.
Labor-backed incumbent Sam
Adams is not seeking re-election, and
several people have filed to succeed
him. The front-runners are business-
woman Eileen Brady, former city com-
missioner Charlie Hales, and State
Rep. Jefferson Smith.
“At this time, our members don’t
feel comfortable making an endorse-
ment,” Forquer said. “We’re anxious to
continue the conversations with all of
the candidates for the mayor’s race. and
we look forward to more information
from them.”
Asked by reporters if the Fire Fight-
ers Union might consider endorsing a
yet unannounced candidate for mayor,
Forquer responded that the union
would give thought to anybody at this
point.
...Oregon AFL-CIO political endorsements
(From Page 1)
6732; and Fire Fighter locals from Tu-
alatin Valley, Newberg, Forest Grove,
Cornelius, Scappoose, Clatskanie, and
Washington County District 2.
United Food and Commercial
Workers Local 555, an affiliate of the
Change to Win labor federation, en-
dorsed Bonamici, as did the independ-
ent Oregon Education Association. Lo-
cal 555 represents approximately 2,000
members in the 1st District.
At the Dec. 16 COPE meeting, the
Oregon AFL-CIO issued an early en-
dorsement for Avakian, who now is
running for re-election as labor com-
missioner. Avakian is being challenged
by Republican State Sen. Bruce Starr.
The labor commissioner’s post is non-
partisan, so if any candidate captures
over 50 percent of the vote in the May
primary, they will be declared the win-
ner and will not be on the November
general election ballot.
COPE delegates also voted to en-
dorse the re-election of Secretary of
State Kate Brown. The endorsement
was contingent upon her completing a
satisfactory questionnaire, which all
political candidates are asked to do.
Additionally, the Oregon AFL-CIO
endorsed Jennifer Williamson for an
open seat in House District 36, and Ben
Unger in House District 29. Both are
Democrats. HD 36 is being vacated by
Mary Nolan, a Democrat running for
Portland City Council. HD 29 is held
by first-term Republican Katie Eyre.
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PAGE 4
M ELVIN “P ETE ” O SCAR
P ETERSON , a former president
and union rep for Bakers Lo-
cal 364, passed away Dec. 5
— 16 days shy of his 84th
birthday.
Peterson worked at
Nabisco in Portland for 36
years and was a 62-year mem-
ber of Local 364.
He took a break from his bakery job
for two years (1950-52) to serve in the
Army during the Korean Conflict.
He left Nabisco in 1985 to go to
work for the union. He retired in 1989.
Peterson served as president of the
local for 20 years.
Peterson was born in Gen-
nessee Township, Minnesota on
Dec. 21, 1927.
He married Gladys Madeline
Babcock in 1972. The couple
was married for 30 years and
traveled around the world. They
had no children. She passed
away May 2, 2002.
Peterson left portions of his estate to
Doernbecher Children’s Hospital,
Providence Child Center, Ronald Mc-
Donald House, and Guide Dogs for the
Blind, Inc.
Funeral arrangement were handled
by Gateway Little Chapel of the
Chimes.
Minimum wage goes up
in Oregon, Washington
Oregon’s minimum wage increased
by 30 cents to $8.80 an hour on New
Year’s Day, while in the state of Wash-
ington, minimum pay jumped by 37
cents to $9.04 an hour.
Oregon and Washington are among
10 states that peg the wage floor to in-
flation. The others are Vermont, Ohio,
Nevada, Montana, Missouri, Florida,
Colorado, and Arizona.
According to the Oregon Bureau of
Labor and Industries, the 30-cent in-
crease in Oregon mirrors a 3.77 percent
increase as measured by the Consumer
Price Index (CPI) for the previous12
months. CPI, published by the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a
measure of the average change in prices
over time for a fixed “market basket” of
goods and services, such as food, shel-
ter, medical care, transportation fares,
and other goods and services people
purchase for day-to-day living.
“Safeguarding the wages of low-in-
come workers is especially critical in a
tough economy,” said Oregon Labor
Commissioner Brad Avakian. “Ore-
gon’s economy will not rebound if we
allow 144,538 minimum wage earners
to fall behind inflation.”
Washington’s minimum wage rate is
the highest in the nation. However, a
few cities have their own laws covering
minimum pay. For instance, San Fran-
cisco’s minimum wage increased to
$10.24 an hour on Jan. 1, making it the
first city in the nation to top a $10 min-
imum wage.
New hourly wage rates for 2012 are:
$8.46 in Vermont; $7.70 in Ohio; $7.65
in Montana; $7.67 in Florida; $7.64 in
Colorado; $7.65 in Arizona; and $8.25
in Nevada for those without employer-
provided health insurance, $7.25 with
insurance provided. Missouri opted for
no change this year and will remain at
$7.25 an hour.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25.
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Another Democrat, Katie Riley, also
has filed for the race. She lost to Eyre in
2010.
Delegates unanimously opposed
Initiative Petition 3, which currently is
gathering signatures in order to qualify
for the November 2012 ballot. The
anti-union initiative seeks to bar public
employers from collecting union dues
if any part goes toward political activi-
ties. Dubbed “paycheck deception” by
labor, delegates amended the motion to
include any initiatives involving pay-
check deception, as several versions
have been filed with the secretary of
state.
The AFL-CIO will consider more
endorsements when it meets again in
early March.
IN MEMORIAM
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NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
JANUARY 6, 2012
